Thirty years later: 'I always looked up to that trophy, literally and figuratively'
Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live
On April 6, 1985, Dale Earnhardt celebrated his third of what would be nine wins at Bristol Motor Speedway. In Victory Lane, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gained a respect for the World's Fastest Half-Mile as well as the hardware handed out to the winners.
"When I was at Bristol in the '80s, dad won there in the Wrangler car, and in Victory Circle in a picture, the trophy is much taller than I am," Earnhardt said Thursday on "The Morning Drive" on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "I always looked up to that trophy, literally and figuratively. Dad had three or four or five of those trophies in his house, and it was just a big, big trophy.
"It stood tall over a lot of the other trophies including the championship trophies that he was winning. So I thought it was one I wanted to have because of the size and then the uniqueness of the race track itself also makes that trophy very coveted."
(Right to left) 10-year-old Dale Earnhardt Jr. with stepmother Teresa, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, age 12
In 2004, Earnhardt was able to win one of his own in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and when he attempts to go back to Victory Lane after the Food City 500 on April 19 (1 p.m. ET, FOX), he'll be running a special throwback paint scheme.
On Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee, Earnhardt unveiled the scheme with a little help from Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, and Old Crow Medicine Show. The double Grammy winners will headline the AutoTrader.com Prerace Concert on April 19 at the track. The DEWshine paint scheme is a homecoming for Mountain Dew, which was invented in Bristol's neighbor, Johnson City, Tennessee, and was created to mix with moonshine.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. unveils the No. 88 Mountain Dew DEWshine Chevrolet that will compete in the April 19 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Also in photo, featured left to right: Chance McCoy, Critter Fuqua, Cory Younts and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show and Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway.
"I like the throwback scheme and the track's a bit of a throwback so they kind of pair up well," Earnhardt said. "I'd love to be able to take it to Victory Lane."
RELATED: Get the DEWshine die-cast and gear
With wins as an XFINITY Series driver and owner to go with his Cup triumph, Earnhardt knows the way to the winner's circle and enjoys interacting with fans there.
"It's a fun, energized win because you're so close to the fans in Victory Lane in Turn 3," Earnhardt said. "You drive up on top of a building for one. That's pretty cool so it's a cool place to drive your race car. And then to be able to get out there right with the fans all around you, it's a great energy so it's a lot of fun to be able to win there."
The configuration and the track surface may change, but Earnhardt said racing at the short track has always been fun for driver and fan alike.
"Just as a pure fan of watching a race, I think it's the best ticket on the circuit," Earnhardt said. "You're not going to have a bad seat, no matter where you're at. You're right on top of the action. Everything is just right there in front of you. There's no other track like it. The high banks. The half-mile. The speed.
"They do a great job putting on a good show. There's a lot of good hospitality in and around the track for the fans prior to the event. It's just a good location, right up the road from the house. But I always loved going there as a kid and always admired how those races were run. I always admired the way dad raced there and a lot of other guys raced there as well."
MORE:
READ: Latest
|
PLAY: Sign up
|
WATCH: Latest
|
FOLLOW LIVE: Get
|
|---|